Optical transmission system using optical signal processing in terminals for improved system performance

ABSTRACT

An optical communication system configured to operate with optical signals at lower signal to noise ratios than previously contemplated. The communication system includes a receiver having an optical pre-processor coupled between a demultiplexer and a detector. The optical pre-processor includes either an optical polarization section having a polarization rotator and an optical polarizer, a phase modulation section that includes a phase modulator and a dispersion element and a clock recovery circuit, or an amplitude modulation section that includes an amplitude modulator clock recovery circuit and a spectral shaping filter. A method of communication includes transmitting an optical signal into the system and receiving the signal at a reduced signal-to-noise ratio through a transmission media, demultiplexing the optical transmission signal into a first optical signal, and pre-processing the first optical signal to form a first pre-processed signal by either rotating a polarization of the first optical signal, compressing a pulse in the first optical signal, or modulating an amplitude of a pulse in the first optical signal. The method then detects the first pre-processed signal to form an electrical signal. A reference signal-to-noise ratio is defined as a signal-to-noise ratio of a received signal that would produce a predetermined bit error rate in the electrical signal if the signal-to-noise ratio were to be determined with the pre-processing step omitted. The reduced signal-to-noise ratio is less than the reference signal-to-noise ratio, and a bit error rate in the electrical signal is less than the predetermined bit error rate when the step of transmitting transmits at the reduced signal-to-noise ratio.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an optical fiber communication systemthat carries multiple optical signals in corresponding channels usingwavelength division multiplexing technology. In particular, an improvedoptical receiver permits the use of lower signal-to-noise ratios in eachWDM channel so that more margin is available to improve systemperformance.

2. Description of Related Art

The capacity of long-haul communication systems, such as “undersea” or“submarine” systems, has been increasing at a substantial rate. Forexample, some long-haul optically amplified undersea communicationsystems are capable of transferring information at speeds of 10 gigabitsper second (Gbps) or greater. Long-haul communication systems, however,are particularly susceptible to noise and pulse distortion given therelatively long distances over which the signals must travel (e.g.,generally 600–12,000 kilometers). Because of these long distances, thesesystems require periodic amplification along the transmission path. Inorder to maximize the transmission capacity of an optical fiber network,a single fiber is used to carry multiple optical channels known aswavelength division multiplexing (hereinafter a WDM system). Forexample, a single optical fiber might carry 32 individual opticalsignals in separate optical channels at corresponding wavelengths evenlyspread in the low loss window of an optical fiber, for example between1540–1564.8 nanometers (e.g., spread in channels on 0.8 nanometercenters).

In a fiber optic network, the fiber itself has associatednonlinearities. At high optical signal powers, the fiber induces phaseshifts on the optical signal due to these fiber nonlinearities. Theinduced phase shifts in the optical signal correspond to wavelengthmodulation imposed on the optical signal. When different portions of anoptical signal have different wavelengths, these different portionspropagate along the transmission fiber at different velocities due todispersion properties inherent in the fiber media. After propagation fora distance, faster portions may overtake and become superimposed onslower portions causing amplitude distortion.

To counter the induced phase shift effects of high signal powersassociated with fiber nonlinearities, an optical phase modulation issometimes imposed on the optical signal at the transmitter in what isreferred to as chirped RZ (CRZ). The inherent band spread of the chirpedRZ waveform imposes a limit on how closely adjacent WDM channels may bespaced and subsequently the number of channels within a particularspectral band.

Q-Factor is a measurement of the electrical signal-to-noise ratio at areceive circuit in a communication system that describes the system'sbit error rate (BER) performance. Q is inversely related to the BER thatoccurs when a bitstream propagates through the transmission path. TheBER increases at low optical signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and decreasesat high SNRs. A BER below a specified rate can be achieved by designingthe transmission system to provide an SNR greater than a predeterminedratio. The predetermined SNR is based on the maximum specified BER. Toachieve a low BER, the SNR must be high, and this may require that thesignal power be at a level that induces undesired phase distortions dueto fiber nonlinearities.

Electrical signal processing such as error correction and detectiontechniques are also used in communications systems. Such errorcorrection techniques are often used in wireless transmission systems toimprove the BER performance and have found increasing use in opticaltransmission systems. Forward Error Correction (FEC) is one type oferror correction which uses a redundancy code computed and inserted intothe data stream at the transmitter end. At the receiver end, the datastream is processed to correct bit errors. While the need to transmitthe FEC “overhead” bits along with the data negatively impactstransmission capacity of the physical transmission channel by increasingthe transmitted bit rate, the net performance of the transmission systemis improved with the use of FEC techniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and method is provided for transmitting and propagating closelyspaced optical channels of a WDM system at lower signal-to-noise ratiosthan is used in known systems while maintaining the same or lower biterror rates.

An optical receiver in accordance with the present invention includes anoptical pre-processor coupled between a demultiplexer and a detector.The optical pre-processor includes either an optical polarizationsection having a polarization rotator and an optical polarizer, a phasemodulation section that includes a dispersive fiber and a phasemodulator, or an amplitude modulation section that includes an amplitudemodulator.

A method of communication in accordance with the present inventionincludes propagating an optical transmission signal at a reducedsignal-to-noise ratio through a transmission media, demultiplexing theoptical transmission signal into a first optical signal, andpre-processing the first optical signal to form a first pre-processedsignal by either rotating a polarization of the first optical signal,compressing a pulse in the optical signal, or modulating an amplitude ofa pulse in the first optical signal. The method then detects the firstpre-processed signal to form an electrical signal. A referencesignal-to-noise ratio is defined as a signal-to-noise ratio of apropagated signal that would produce a predetermined bit error rate inthe electrical signal if the signal-to-noise ratio were to be determinedwith the pre-processing step omitted. The reduced signal-to-noise ratiois less than the reference signal-to-noise ratio, and a bit error ratein the electrical signal is less than the predetermined bit error ratewhen the step of propagating at the reduced signal-to-noise ratio.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in detail in the following descriptionof preferred embodiments with reference to the following figureswherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a communication system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a transmitter end of the system of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a receiver end of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a representative transmitter of theterminal end of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a graph depicting the chirped RZ waveforms output from thetransmitter of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a pre-processor circuit as used in theterminal end of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an alternative pre-processor circuit asused in the terminal end of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a graph depicting the simulated channel Q of the improvedsystem compared to a baseline system as a function of signal-to-noiseratio;

FIG. 9 is a graph depicting the gain in simulated channel Q of theimproved system compared to a baseline system for a 50 GHz channel and a100 GHz channel spacing as a function of signal-to-noise ratio;

FIG. 10 is a graph depicting the simulated channel Q of a channelcarrying a Non-Return-to-Zero (NRZ), a chirp RZ (called full RZ) and ahalf RZ waveform as a function of signal-to-noise ratio;

FIG. 11 is a graph depicting the gain in simulated channel Q attending achange from a NRZ to a full RZ waveform and attending a change from afull RZ to a half RZ waveform as a function of signal-to-noise ratio;

FIG. 12 is a graph depicting the simulated channel Q of a channelcarrying a chirp RZ (called full RZ) waveform without compression andwith receiver compression factors of 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 as a function ofsignal-to-noise ratio; and

FIG. 13 is a graph depicting the gain in simulated channel Q attending achange from a chirp RZ (called full RZ) waveform without receivercompression to a chirp RZ waveform with receiver compression factors of1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 as a function of signal-to-noise ratio.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The capacity of optical communication systems can be improved byoperating the system at lower SNRs in combination with FEC technology.In particular, signals propagating through a WDM communication systemwith lower transmission path average power experience less nonlinearimpairments. Therefore, channel spacings among WDM signals may bereduced thereby increasing system capacity.

Referring first to FIG. 1, optical network 100 includes terminal end130, terminal end 120 and a plurality of repeaters (optical amplifiers)110 linked by optical cable 106 and 107. Terminal 130 and terminal 120may each include receivers and transmitters to accommodate bidirectionaltransmission. In accordance with the present invention the opticalsignals that propagate over network 100 could do so at lower SNRs whilemaintaining adequate BER. In particular, the output power of each of theoptical amplifiers 110 is reduced such that a signal having a lower SNRis received at a receiving end (e.g. terminal 120) of the network. Asdetailed below, by using signals with lower SNRs, the amount of phasemodulation performed at the transmitter may be reduced, thus allowingfor greater spectral efficiency and consequently greater channelcapacity over a communications network.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary terminal 130 of network 100 thatincludes transmitter 140 and combiner or multiplexer 132. It should beunderstood that the exemplary transmitter may also be included interminal 120 for bidirectional transmission. Combiner combines one ormore optical channels carried on respective one or more fibers 134 fromrespective one or more optical transmitters 140. These WDM signalspropagate over network 100 via optical cable 106, 107.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary receiver circuit included in terminal120 of network 100 which comprises a demultiplexer 122, opticalpreprocessor 170, photo detector circuit 127 and low pass filter 129. Itshould be understood that the exemplary receiver may also be included interminal end 130 for bidirectional transmission. Demultiplexer 122divides terminal input signals received over cable 108 into individualwavelengths or channels. Once separated, each channel is processedthrough optical pre-processor circuit 170 to produce higher fidelitysignal 125. Photo detector circuit receives optical signal 125 andgenerates an electrical signal that corresponds to the optical signalcarried in a particular one of the WDM channels.

In order to transmit and receive optical signals long distances, certainmodulation techniques are employed to provide a higher fidelity ordetectable signal at the receive end. In particular, FIG. 4 illustratestransmitter 140 which includes light source 142, data modulator 144,amplitude modulator 146 and phase modulator 148. Laser or light source142 provides a coherent light signal 150 to on-off data modulator 144which provides optical on-off data signal 152 to amplitude modulator146. Amplitude modulator 146 provides AM modulated (e.g., shaped)optical signal 154 to phase modulator 148. Phase modulator 148 providesan output optical signal on optical cable 134. A band pass filter (notshown) may be provided prior to wavelength multiplexer 132 to reduceinter-channel interference.

Laser source 142 provides optical signal 150 at the nominal wavelengthof transmitter 140 (or some constant offset therefrom depending on thespecific implementations of modulators 144, 146 and 148). For example,laser source 142 may provide optical signal 150 at a wavelength of 1541nanometers.

Amplitude modulator 146 shapes the power envelope of optical signal 152so as to provide shaped optical signal 154. Amplitude modulator 146 mayinclude such shaping circuits as required to transform the clock signalinput into a signal which drives the actual amplitude modulator toachieve the desired shaped optical signal.

Phase modulator 148 responds to a clock signal input to generate a“chirped” signal 134. Modulator 148 imparts an optical phase angle thatis time varying thereby imparting a frequency shift (and correspondingwavelength shift). For example, phase modulator 148 may vary theinstantaneous wavelength between 1540.7 and 1541.3 nanometers (i.e., a0.6 nanometer band spread) when laser 142 is providing an optical signalat 1541 nanometers.

In FIG. 5A, on-off modulated optical signal 152 provided by datamodulator 144 is depicted as having either on power or off power. Forexample, the electrical data signal provided into data modulator 144 isa bitstream of data encoded into a non-return to zero electrical signal(NRZ signal). A “one” may be represented by 5 volts, and a “zero” isrepresented by 0 volts. On-off modulator 144 modulates optical signal150 to be optically “off” (e.g., no optical signal is output,) when thedata bitstream into data modulator 144 is a “zero” and optically “on”(e.g., laser signal) when the data bitstream is a “one.” Optical signal152 depicts a non-return to zero (NRZ) coded optical signal (e.g., witha 100% pulse duty factor), where the four bits represent “1101.” Opticalsignal 154, illustrated in FIG. 5B, depicts a return to zero (RZ) codedoptical signal after amplitude modulator 146. Phase modulator 148produces a chirped optical signal 134 with a corresponding instantaneousfrequency deviation shown in FIG. 5C.

Repeaters 110 interspaced along cable 107, include amplifiers thatamplify the transmitted optical signals incident thereon from terminals120 and 130. Typically, the amplifiers are erbium doped fiber amplifiersconfigured to provide amplification or gain at wavelengths within thelow loss window of the optical fiber contained in cable 107 (e.g. 1550nm region). These amplifiers include erbium-doped fiber that is “pumped”with light at a selected wavelength, e.g., 980 nm, which excites theerbium and amplifies the incoming optical signal. The spectral regionfor such amplifiers is typically between 1525 to 1573 nm. In addition toamplifying the incident optical signals, these amplifiers also addunwanted noise (amplified spontaneous emission) to the signal. As theamplified optical signal together with the noise component passesthrough the series of repeaters 110, this optical noise componentincreases after each repeater thereby reducing the signal to noise ratioof the received signal at terminals 120 or 130. Launch power as usedhereinafter refers to the output of the signal including the noisecomponent after each repeater, that is “launched” into the cablesections 106 and 107. A receiver in accordance with the presentinvention operates at lower SNR values while maintaining adequate biterror ratio performance. Thus, the performance of an opticalcommunication system can be improved by using a receiver in accordancewith this present invention to receive optical signals having lower SNRs(resulting from lower launch power) which reduces phase distortionsassociated with fiber nonlinearities. As a result, less chirp phasemodulation is required to pre-compensate the optical signal so that itarrives at the receiver undistorted. Because less phase modulation isrequired, the bandwidth associated with each channel is minimized, whichreduces inter-channel spacings, thereby allowing for the transmission ofmore optical channels. In this manner, a given optical system can carrymore capacity over the same signal bandwidth.

By reducing the optical SNRs of the propagating signal, the SNR of thereceived signal is also reduced which would ordinarily lead to higherbit error rates (BERs). However, data processing techniques, such asforward error correction (FEC), enable the correction of these biterrors. The loss of bandwidth associated with the use of FEC is lessthan the gain in data bandwidth that results from providing more datachannels.

For example, assume an existing communication system that carriesoptical channels between a 48 nanometer band spread (1529–1577 nm) isdivided into 80 optical channels spaced on 0.6 nanometer centers. Then,consider reducing the amount of phase modulation so that the channelspacing can be reduced from 0.6 nanometers to 0.5 nanometers (i.e.,20%). Then, with the channel spacing so reduced, the same 48 nanometerband spread can carry 96 optical channels.

FIG. 6 illustrates an optical pre-processor circuit 170 associated witha receive circuit shown in FIG. 3 in accordance with the presentinvention. Circuit 170 includes band pass filter 176, opticalpolarization section 172, phase modulation section 174, and/or amplitudemodulation section 178. Band pass filter 176 is configured to pass oneor more optical channels received via demultiplexer 122. It isunderstood by those skilled in the art that the channel selectionfunction provided by 176 could also be part of demultiplexer 122.Optical polarization section 172 includes polarization rotator 160,optical polarizer 162 and circuitry 165. Polarization rotator 160(sometimes called a polarization controller) rotates the polarization ofthe input optical signal according to an input control signal receivedfrom circuitry 165. Optical tap 164 taps a portion (e.g. 5–10%) of theoptical signal from polarizer 162 and supplies this signal to circuitry165. Circuitry 165 generates a polarization control signal to controlpolarization rotator 160. As the polarization of the optical signal isrotated by rotator 160 the signal polarization is aligned with opticalpolarizer 162 to pass an associated portion of the optical signal tophase modulation section 174. Similarly, the portion of the opticalsignal orthogonal to polarizer 162 is not permitted to pass throughpolarizer 162. In this manner, the optical noise component associatedwith the orthogonal signal not passed through polarizer 162 issuppressed.

Transmitter 140 may be configured to take advantage of orthogonalpolarization launch, where the WDM channels are launched into the systemin a “pair-wise” orthogonal relationship as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.:6,134,033 entitled “Method and Apparatus for improving SpectralEfficiency in Wavelength Division Multiplexed Transmission Systems.” Ifpair-wise orthogonal launch is employed then polarization section 172 ofpreprocessor circuit 170 passes the channel to be selected and filtersunwanted adjacent channels. For example, if the receiver was configuredto receive channel 10 having wavelength λ₁₀, then polarization section172 would filter adjacent channels 9 having wavelength λ₉ and channel 11having wavelength λ₁₁.

Phase modulation section 174 includes dispersion element 180, phasemodulator 182 and a clock recovery circuitry 185. Dispersion element canbe, for example, a length of dispersion compensating fiber. Optical tap184 senses an optical signal in the phase modulation section andcircuitry 185 receives a portion of the optical signal from section 172via optical tap 184 and provides a control signal that is adjustable intime relative to a clock signal derived from the tapped optical signaland/or adjustable to control a phase modulation index affected by phasemodulator 182. Circuitry 185 may include optical-to-electrical converter(e.g., a detector), adjustable delay circuit and driver. Alternatively,circuitry 185 could be used to provide an electrical signal to phasemodulator 182 that is functionally related to the optical intensity ofthe signal detected at tap 184; thus providing a phase modulationdependent on the intensity of the signal. Phase modulation section 174functions as a pulse compressor by exploiting the characteristic ofdispersion element 180. Normal fiber media propagates optical signals ata rate that is dependent on the signal wavelength. The characteristicdispersion defines the rate of propagation as a function of thewavelength of the optical fiber. Dispersion element 180 has dispersioncharacteristics defined over particular wavelengths. For example, phasemodulator 182 is controlled to impart, on the optical signal supplied bypolarization section 172, a wavelength that varies from the start of thepulse to the end of the pulse as a result of modulation by phasemodulator 182. Due to this variation in wavelength, there is adifference in the rate of optical signal propagation in dispersionelement 180 experienced at the start of the pulse and at the end of thepulse such that the end of the pulse “catches up” with the pulsestarting portion after passing through dispersion element 180. Forexample, by selecting the length of dispersion fiber 180 and the amountof phase modulation imparted by phase modulator 182, a 50% CRZ signal(i.e., an Full RZ signal (FRZ)) can be compressed into a 25% CRZ signal(i.e., a Half RZ signal (HRZ)_=). In fact, any reasonable compressionratio may be achieved in phase modulation section 174 when operated as apulse compressor. A compression factor of 1.0 means no compression atall. A compression factor of 2.0 means compressing a 50% CRZ waveforminto a 25% CRZ waveform. A compression factor of 3.0 means compressing a50% CRZ waveform into a 16⅔% CRZ waveform. In general, the pulse widthoutput from pulse compressor 174 is the pulse width into pulsecompressor 174 divided by the compression factor.

The relative bit error rate performance of compressed pulses whencompared to an uncompressed pulse is that the pulse compression leads tolarger eye openings for better noise margin in the detection process.Narrower pulses in the channel detection process result in betterchannel Q due to the better eye opening. RZ pulses are better than NRZpulses, and HRZ pulses are better than RZ pulses since HRZ pulses arenarrower than RZ pulses. By compressing the input RZ pulses intonarrower RZ pulses, signals with lower SNR may used without compromisingthe resulting bit error rate.

Amplitude modulation section 178 includes amplitude modulator 192, clockrecovery circuitry 195 and spectral shaping filter 199. Optical tap 194taps a portion of the optical signal to circuitry 195 and spectralshaping filter 199. Circuitry 195 is configured to provide a controlsignal, based on the portion of the optical signal received via tap 194,to modulator 192. The control signal is adjustable in time relative to aclock signal derived from the tapped optical signal and/or adjustable tocontrol an amplitude modulation index affected by the amplitudemodulator. Amplitude modulator 192 may advantageously be used to furtherattenuate the optical signal at times in the timeline that are outsideof the pulse that has been narrowed in the pulse compressor (e.g., thecombination of dispersive fiber 180 and phase modulator 182 worktogether as a pulse compressor). Filter 199 may include a spectralweight to emphasize or de-emphasize different parts of the opticalspectrum. Alternatively, circuitry 195 could be used to provide anelectrical signal to amplitude modulator 192 that is functionallyrelated to the optical intensity of the signal detected at tap 194. Evenwithout the pulse compressor formed from the combination of dispersivefiber 180 and phase modulator 182, amplitude modulation section 178advantageously narrows the pulse so that photo detector (FIG. 3) samplesthe signal power substantially in the center of the RZ pulse. Narrowerpulses in the channel detection process result in better channel Q dueto the better eye opening. An optical receiver that includes at leasttwo of optical polarization section 172, phase modulation section 174and amplitude modulation section 178 need not include duplicate opticaltaps. Alternatively, a single tap, e.g. 164, may be used to provide aportion of the optical signal to each of the polarization section 172,phase modulation section 174, and amplitude modulation section 178 asillustrated in FIG. 7.

The optical signal 125 supplied by optical preprocessor 170 tophotodetector circuit 127 of FIG. 3 imposes a corresponding electricalfield in the photodetector circuit. In particular, when optical signal125 represents a binary “zero”(i.e. data bit), the electrical fieldcomprises noise, hereinafter <noise>. When optical signal 125 representsa binary “one”, the electrical field is comprised of a <noise> componentplus a binary one, hereinafter <one>, where data modulator 144 is “on”.Photodetector circuit 127 can be, for example, a square law detector ofthe electrical field. The output of the detector is the square root ofthe noise component (<noise>²) when the signal represents a “zero.” Whenthe data bit is a “one”, the electric field at the detector comprises<one>+<noise>, and the electrical signal output of the detector is thesquare root of [<one>+<noise>]², and the power detected is:Power=<one>²+2<one><noise>+<noise>²  (1)

The quality Q of a channel in fiber network 100 varies inversely to thebit error rate that would otherwise be expected. Lower bit error rateswill be obtained in channels of greater Q. A more detailed explanationof Q may be found in “Margin Measurements in Optical Amplifier Systems,”Bergano et al., IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 5, No. 3 March1993. Q is given by:

$\begin{matrix}{Q = \frac{{M_{1} - M_{0}}}{\sigma_{1} + \sigma_{0}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

-   -   The bit error rate of the channel is then able to be determined        from the channel Q by:

$\begin{matrix}{{BER} = {\int_{Q}^{\infty}{\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\;\pi}}\ {\mathbb{e}}^{{- \alpha}\frac{2}{2}}{\mathbb{d}\alpha}}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

The term <one>² of equation (1) does not contribute to the expectedstandard deviation ₁since <one> is the deterministic value of a “one”without noise. However, the terms 2<one><noise> and <noise>² of equation(1) contribute to the expected standard deviation ₁since <noise> is astochastic value that varies from measurement to measurement.

The term “2<one><noise>” in equation (1) is referred to as varianceσ_(S-SP) ² (signal spontaneous noise) and the term “<noise>²” isreferred to as variance σ_(SP-SP) ²(spontaneous to spontaneous noise)The variance of all measurements of a “one” attributable to noise isdesignated as σ₁ ² and equals the sum of variance signal to spontaneousnoise (σ_(S-SP) ²) and variance spontaneous to spontaneous noiseσ(_(SP-SP) ²) The variance of all measurements of a “zero” attributableto noise is designated as σ₀ ² and equals variance spontaneous tospontaneous noise (_(SP) _(σ) _(-SP) ²).

Referring back to FIG. 3, when a signal is received by photodetectorcircuit 127, the voltage after the low pass filter 129 is measured atthe center of the bit space for each received bit. After a large numberof bits are measured in this way, statistical averages and variances maybe computed. The arithmetic mean of all “ones” (i.e., the mean of thesquare root of [<one>+<noise>]²) is defined to be M₁, and the mean ofall “zeros” (i.e., the mean of <noise>) is defined to be M₀.

When the effects of σ_(SP-SP) ² noise are reduced, channel quality Q, isimproved as can be seen from formula (2). This improvement becomes moresignificant at low SNR, because at low SNR, the effect of σ_(SP-SP) ²noise is greatest. That is σ_(sp-sp) is comparable to cup therebyreducing σ_(s-sp) and providing significant improvement in Q. Asdescribed above, preprocessor 170 reduces the effects of σ_(SP-SP) ²noise by (i) blocking one polarization (orthogonal to the signal) usingpolarization section 172, and (ii) compressing the optical signal pulsein time domain by phase modulation using phase modulation section 174.FIG. 8 illustrates simulation results of Q associated with a channelwith a 100 GHz optical bandpass filter carrying 10 Gb/s of data atsignal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) ranging from −3.4 dB to 4.6 dB. For abaseline configuration (without optical pre-processor circuit 170), Qvaries from about 7.5 dB to 18 dB. However, when improved with opticalpre-processor circuit 170 with a compression factor of 2.0 andpolarization suppressed, Q is (improved) and varies from about 10 dB to19 dB. FIG. 9 illustrates the simulation results of the improvement indB of Q for a 100 GHz optical band pass channel carrying 10 Gb/s of datawith optical pre-processor circuit 170 relative to the Q for the same100 GHz channel without optical pre-processor circuit 170. Also shown isthe simulation results of the improvement (increase) of Q for a 50 GHzband pass carrying 10 Gb/s of data channel with optical pre-processorcircuit 170 as compared to Q associated with the same 50 GHz channelwithout optical pre-processor circuit 170. Both are graphed to show theresults at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) ranging from −3.4 dB to 4.6 dB.With a 100 GHz channel, the improvement in Q from the use of opticalpre-processor circuit 170 varies from 2.2 dB to 0.85 dB. With a 50 GHzchannel, the improvement in Q from the use of optical pre-processorcircuit 170 varies from 1.5 dB to 0.6 dB.

By using optical pre-processor circuit 170, Q associated with a WDMchannel can be improved. Pulse compression from phase modulator section174 minimizes spontaneous-spontaneous beat noise (i.e., (σ_(SP-SP) ²noise) and improves receiver sensitivity. At SNR ranges that produce Qvalues between 13 and 14 dB (FIG. 8), more than 1 dB of improvement in Qcan be obtained by using optical pre-processor circuit 170.

With the addition of optical pre-processor circuit 170 and the attendingimprovement in Q, the bit error rate is reduced. For example (refer toFIG. 9), in a 100 GHz channel operating at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)of about 3 dB, the addition of optical pre-processor circuit 170increases the channel Q (and therefore, lowers the bit error rate) byabout 1.0 dB. The improvement in Q in a lower SNR operating environmentindicates that the benefit of using pre-processor 170 is larger in alower SNR environment as compared to a higher SNR operating environment.

FIG. 10 illustrates simulation results of Q for input signal-to-noiseratios of 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 dB associated with three pulse compressionratios: NRZ (100% duty cycle), full RZ (50% pulse duty cycle) and halfRZ (25% higher pulse duty cycle). As can be seen, the narrower RZ pulseshave higher Q even though the noise bandwidth of the channel is higher.The noise bandwidth is defined by low pass filter 129 (FIG. 2) with abandwidth, in this simulation, of 5 GHz for normal NRZ, 6 GHz for fullRZ (with chirp) and 12 GHz for half RZ.

FIG. 11 illustrates the gain in Q achieved by changing from NRZ to fullRZ and the gain in Q achieved by changing from full RZ to half RZ. Inparticular, the Q associated with full RZ is about 1.7 dB greater thanthe Q associated with 1 NRZ at a high (i.e., 15 dB) SNR, and this gainin Q increases still further to about 2.4 dB when the SNR is decreasedto a low (i.e., 3 dB) SNR. Similarly, Q associated with half RZ is about0.4 dB greater than Q for full RZ at a high (i.e., 15 dB) SNR, and thisgain in Q increases still further to about 1.8 dB when the SNR isdecreased to a low (i.e., 3 dB) SNR. As these simulations illustrate,the improvement in Q when using optical pre-processor circuit 170 in thereceiver expands at lower SNRs when compared to higher SNRs.

At a large SNR, the difference in Q between full RZ and half RZ issmall; however, at a low SNR, the difference in Q between full RZ andhalf RZ expands as is shown in FIG. 11 where the SNR is calculated basedon a bandwidth of 0.6 nanometers. Thus, the receiver in accordance withthe present invention is configured to work with standard power levels,but will have a larger Q-factor enhancement in a lower SNR environment.

Forward error correction (FEC) processing technologies may be used torecover any adverse change in bit error rate, if an adverse changeoccurs, associated with a change from a high SNR to a low SNR. Byutilizing compressed RZ signal pulses, benefits such as higher Q andlower BER are obtained in a low SNR propagating environment thancompared to a high SNR environment. Thus, it is envisioned that thecombination of the optical pre-processor with FEC will be useful in alow SNR operating environment.

If narrow RZ pulses are transmitted with the high peak powers associatedwith narrow pulses, gain in Q may be nullified with higher fibernon-linearity effects. These non-linearity effects result in awavelength modulation imposed across the pulse width. Therefore, widerpulses are transmitted and propagated in the fiber, and pulsecompression is performed at the receiver using pre-processor circuit170.

The transmitted pulses from transmitter 140 are wider with relativelylow peak power when compared to the compressed pulses associated withphase modulation section 174. In this simulation, phase modulationsection 174 used 2 kilometers of dispersion compensating fiber 180 andphase modulator 182 was designed to modulate the optical phase up to tworadians. Phase modulation section 174 operates to achieve variouscompression factors: CF=1.0 (no compression), CF=1.5, CF=2.0 and CF=3.0.

FIG. 12 illustrates Q results plotted for compression factors rangingfrom 1.0 to 3.0 at SNRs ranging from 2 to 17 dB. In a high SNRenvironment, Q tends to approach a single value (about 28 dB for an SNRof 17 dB). In a low SNR environment, the higher compression factorsachieve noticeably higher Q.

FIG. 13 illustrates the improvement in Q over an uncompressed pulse atSNRs ranging from 2 to 17 dB plotted for compression factors of CF=1.5,CF=2.0 and CF=3.0. For example, at a compression factor of CF=3.0, morethan a 2 dB improvement in Q is achieved at SNRs of less than 6 dB.

By rejecting one polarization in optical polarizer 162 (FIG. 6) and bycompressing the optical pulses in phase modulation section 174 (FIG. 6),system 100 (FIG. 1) is able to maintain the same or reduced bit errorrate for the desired data bit transport rate because of the improved Qachieved at the lower SNRs. In addition, the lower SNR is achieved byeither transmitting or amplifying at lower peak powers. By lowering thepeak power, effects of fiber nonlinearities are minimized. At the sametime, the phase modulation that is imposed by phase modulator 148 (FIG.4) to compensate for these nonlinear effects may be lessened so that thephase modulated optical signal varies over a narrower band ofwavelengths. This permits adjacent channels in a wavelength divisionmultiplex (WDM) system such as network 100 to be spaced on closerwavelength intervals.

Existing communications systems that include an existing opticalreceiver may be improved by replacing it with an improved opticalreceiver in accordance with the present invention. The improved opticalreceiver includes a pulse compressor to compress pulses of thepropagating optical signal into a compressed pulse. Having describedpreferred embodiments of a novel optical transmission system using pulsecompression and polarization suppression in the receiver in low SNRenvironment, it is noted that modifications and variations can be madeby persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings 1.) Forexample, one could envision replacing polarizer 162 in FIG. 6 with apartial polarizer. This could prove to be a benefit if the data signalis slightly depolarized after propagating through the transmissionsystem. Alternatively, an optical filter may be used in combination withthe amplitude modulation sections to emphasize certain parts of theoptical spectrum. This could for example correct for any amplitudedistortion in the received pulses. Alternatively, it may be advantageousto change the order of the data modulator, amplitude modulator and phasemodulator sections depending on receiver and system configurations. Itis therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particularembodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope andspirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention with the details and particularityrequired by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected byLetters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. A pre-processor used in an optical receiver comprising: an opticalpolarization section having a polarization rotator and an opticalpolarizer; a phase modulation section coupled to an output of saidoptical polarization section, said phase modulation section configuredto compress said output of said polarization section and comprising aphase modulator and a dispersive fiber coupled to an output of saidphase modulator; and an amplitude modulation section coupled to anoutput of said optical polarization section, said amplitude modulationsection including an amplitude modulator.
 2. The optical receiver ofclaim 1, wherein the phase modulation section further includes a clockrecovery circuit coupled to control the phase modulator.
 3. The opticalreceiver of claim 2, wherein the clock recovery circuit includes: a tapto sense an optical signal in the phase modulation section; and controlcircuitry to provide a phase modulator control signal that is at leastone of adjustable in time relative to a clock signal derived from thetapped optical signal and adjustable to control a phase modulation indexaffected by the phase modulator.
 4. The optical receiver of claim 3,wherein the circuitry to provide a phase modulator control signalprovides the phase modulator control signal that is adjustable in timerelative to the clock signal and adjustable to control the phasemodulation index.
 5. The optical receiver of claim 1, further comprisinga clock recovery circuit, wherein the clock recovery circuit includes atap to sense an optical signal in one of the phase modulation sectionand the amplitude modulation section; and circuitry to provide a phasemodulator control signal and an amplitude modulator control signal, thephase modulator control signal being at least one of adjustable in timerelative to a clock signal derived from the tapped optical signal andadjustable to control a phase modulation index affected by the phasemodulator, the amplitude modulator control signal being at least one ofadjustable in time relative to the clock signal and adjustable tocontrol an amplitude modulation index affected by the amplitudemodulator.
 6. The optical receiver of claim 1, wherein the amplitudemodulation section further includes a clock recovery circuit coupled tocontrol the amplitude modulator.
 7. The optical receiver of claim 6,wherein the clock recovery circuit includes: a tap to sense an opticalsignal in the amplitude modulation section; and circuitry to provide anamplitude modulator control signal that is at least one of adjustable intime relative to a clock signal derived from the tapped optical signaland adjustable to control an amplitude modulation index affected by theamplitude modulator.
 8. The optical receiver of claim 7, wherein thecircuitry to provide an amplitude modulator control signal provides theamplitude modulator control signal that is adjustable in time relativeto the clock signal and adjustable to control the amplitude modulationindex.
 9. The optical receiver of claim 1, wherein the opticalpolarization section further includes a polarization feedback controlcircuit coupled to control the polarization rotator.
 10. The opticalreceiver of claim 9, wherein the polarization feedback control circuitincludes: a tap to sense an optical signal in the optical polarizationsection; and circuitry to provide a polarization control signal tocontrol the polarization rotator based on the optical signal.
 11. Amethod of receiving an optical signal comprising steps of:demultiplexing an input signal into at least one optical signal;pre-processing a first optical signal of the at least one optical signalto form a first pre-processed signal, the step of pre-processingincluding at least one step selected from the group consisting ofrotating a polarization of the first optical signal, compressing a pulsein the first optical signal, and modulating an amplitude of a pulse inthe first optical signal; and detecting the first pre-processed signalto form an electrical signal, wherein a reference signal-to-noise ratiois defined as a signal-to-noise ratio of a received signal that wouldproduce a predetermined bit error rate in the electrical signal if thesignal-to-noise ratio were to be determined with the pre-processing stepomitted; a reduced signal-to-noise ratio is less than the referencesignal-to-noise ratio; and a bit error rate in the electrical signal isless than the predetermined bit error rate when said at least oneoptical signal is received at the reduced signal-to-noise ratio, whereinthe step of compressing a pulse includes: recovering a clock signal fromthe first optical signal: controlling a phase modulator with therecovered clock signal by performing at least one step selected from thegroup consisting of delaying the clock signal by an adjustable delay,and shaping the clock signal by an adjustable shape; and passing thefirst optical signal through a dispersive fiber.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the step of recovering a clock signal includes: coupling aportion of the first optical signal to form a tapped optical signal; anddetecting the tapped optical signal to form the clock signal.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising a step of transmitting the inputsignal through a transmission media prior to the step of demultiplexing.14. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of modulating an amplitudeincludes: recovering a clock signal from the first optical signal;controlling an amplitude modulator with the recovered clock signal; andpassing the first optical signal through a dispersive fiber.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the step of controlling an amplitudemodulator includes at least one step selected from the group consistingof: delaying the clock signal by an adjustable delay; and shaping theclock signal by an adjustable shape.
 16. The method of claim 14, whereinthe step of controlling an amplitude modulator includes: delaying theclock signal by an adjustable delay; and shaping the delayed clocksignal by an adjustable shape.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein thestep of rotating a polarization includes: passing the first opticalsignal through a polarization rotator to form a rotated optical signal;recovering a clock signal from the rotated optical signal; andcontrolling the polarization rotator with the clock signal.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the step of recovering a clock signalincludes: coupling a portion of the rotated optical signal to form atapped optical signal; and detecting the tapped optical signal to formthe clock signal.
 19. A method of receiving an optical signal comprisingsteps of: transmitting an input signal through a transmission media, theinput signal being characterized by a reduced band spread;demultiplexing said input signal into at least one optical signal aftersaid input signal has been transmitted through said transmission media;pre-proces sing a first optical signal of the at least one opticalsignal to form a first pre-processed signal, the step of pre-processingincluding at least one step selected from the group consisting of:rotating a polarization of the first optical signal, compressing a pulsein the first optical signal, and modulating an amplitude of a pulse inthe first optical signal; detecting the first pre-processed signal toform an electrical signal, wherein: a reference band spread is definedas a band spread of an optical signal that has been sufficiently chirpedso as to compensate for distortions induced in the transmission media byan optical signal transmitted at a power level that would produce apredetermined bit error rate in the electrical signal if the band spreadwere to be determined with the pre-processing step omitted; the reducedband spread is less than the reference band spread; and a bit error ratein the electrical signal is less than the predetermined bit error ratewhen said input signal is characterized by the reduced band spread. 20.A method of receiving an optical signal comprising steps of:transmitting an input signal through a transmission media, the inputsignal being characterized by a reduced signal-to-noise ratio;demultiplexing said input signal into at least one optical signal aftersaid input signal has been transmitted through said transmission media;pre-processing a first optical signal of the at least one optical signalto form a first pre-processed signal, the step of pre-processingincluding at least one step selected from the group consisting of:rotating a polarization of the first optical signal, compressing a pulsein the first optical signal, and modulating an amplitude of a pulse inthe first optical signal; detecting the first pre-processed signal toform an electrical signal, wherein: a reference signal-to-noise ratio isdefined as a signal-to-noise ratio of a received signal that wouldproduce the predetermined bit error rate in the electrical signal if thesignal-to-noise ratio were to be determined with the pre-processing stepomitted; the reduced signal-to-noise ratio is less than the referencesignal-to-noise ratio; and a bit error rate in the electrical signal isless than the predetermined bit error rate when said input signal isreceived at the reduced signal-to-noise ratio.
 21. An opticalcommunication system comprising: an optical transmitter; an opticaltransmission path coupled to said transmitter, said transmission pathconfigured to carry a plurality of optical signals a predetermineddistance, each of said optical signals having a reference signal tonoise ratio associated with said predetermined distance; at least oneoptical amplifier disposed along said transmission path, said amplifierconfigured to output said optical channels having signal to noise ratiosthat are lower as compared with said reference signal to noise ratiosassociated with said predetermined distance; and an optical receivercoupled to said transmission path, said receiver configured to detectsaid optical signals at said lower signal to noise ratios, said receivercomprising: an optical polarization section comprising a polarizationrotator and an optical polarizer; a phase modulation section coupled tosaid optical polarization section, said phase modulation sectioncomprising a dispersive fiber and a phase modulator; and an amplitudemodulation section coupled to said phase modulation section, saidamplitude modulation section comprising an amplitude modulator.
 22. Apre-processor used in an optical receiver comprising: an opticalpolarization section having a polarization rotator and an opticalpolarizer; and a phase modulation section coupled to an output of saidoptical polarization section, said phase modulation section configuredto compress said output of said polarization section and comprising: aphase modulator, a dispersive fiber coupled to an output of said phasemodulator, and a clock recovery circuit coupled to control said phasemodulator, said clock recovery circuit comprising, a tap to sense anoptical signal in the phase modulation section; and control circuitry toprovide a phase modulator control signal that is adjustable in timerelative to a clock signal derived from the tapped optical signal andadjustable to control a phase modulation index affected by the phasemodulator.
 23. The optical receiver in accordance with claim 22, whereinthe optical pre-processor includes an amplitude modulation sectioncoupled to an output of said optical polarization section, saidamplitude modulation section including an amplitude modulator.